socialist realism

American  

Or Socialist Realism

noun

1. a state-approved artistic or literary style in some socialist countries, as the U.S.S.R., that characteristically celebrates an idealized vision of the life and industriousness of the workers.

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socialist realism British  

noun

1. (in Communist countries, esp formerly) the doctrine that art, literature, etc should present an idealized portrayal of reality, which glorifies the achievements of the Communist Party

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Etymology

Origin of socialist realism

First recorded in 1930–35

Example Sentences

Zeng’s art is informed by socialist realism, a style he encountered growing up in Maoist China.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 26, 2023

The school of socialist realism that dominated art in the Soviet Union glorified peasants and industrial workers, depicting heroic, muscular steelworkers and smiling farmers wielding agricultural implements.

From Textbooks • Dec. 14, 2022

But by the time of Mikhailov’s youth, socialist realism had become the only permitted style, and imagery of the revolution had decayed into Stalinist kitsch.

From New York Times • Oct. 28, 2022

Stalin’s insistence on socialist realism made polemic both aesthetically and morally suspect.

From The Guardian • Aug. 24, 2019

The bus rolls along wide, leafy streets, giving Nowa Huta a surprisingly parklike feeling despite block after block of drab, gray buildings designed in a form of architectural propaganda known as socialist realism.

From Washington Post • Dec. 1, 2016